Kings of the mat

Tuesday

Mar 1, 2011 at 12:01 AM

For four years Tyler Philpott had asked his wrestling coach, Brandon Schweitzer, if he could wear the shoes he wore when he won the 3-A heavyweight state championship nine years ago, but Schweitzer declined each time.

By BRITTANY JACKSONTimes-News Staff Writer

For four years Tyler Philpott had asked his wrestling coach, Brandon Schweitzer, if he could wear the shoes he wore when he won the 3-A heavyweight state championship nine years ago, but Schweitzer declined each time.On Saturday at the 2-A wrestling state finals in Greensboro, however, Schweitzer surprised Philpott just before he took the mat against Brevard’s Tre Hemphill for the title.“I’m going to let you wear them,” Schweitzer told Philpott.Minutes later, the undefeated Polk County senior was named the 2011 2-A state champion at heavyweight. Earlier the same evening, North Henderson sophomore Colby Langford won his first 2-A state title as well, at 103, when he pinned Polk’s Juan Vera.The performances of Philpott (37-0) and Langford (52-3) at the 2-A state tournament make them the choices for this week’s Edward Jones/Times-News Prep Player of the Week Award, presented by Ryan Harman of Edward Jones Investments in Hendersonville.It was a rematch of the 2-A regional finals, in which Philpott decisioned Hemphill 5-3. The state match was closer, as Philpott decisioned Hemphill 2-1.“Going into that match, we had talked a lot about what needed to happen as far as dictating the tempo, pushing the pace and forcing action to happen. Tyler followed the game plan exactly,” Schweitzer said. “We got to the third period, tied one to one, and I kept screaming at him, “Push, dig, keep working,” and he really did. The referee felt that Tre wasn’t working hard enough and awarded Tyler the stalling point in the third period, which is what made the difference. I was really impressed with him.”In 2002, Schweitzer was undefeated as a heavyweight at West Henderson as he headed into the state finals bout against Brevard’s Pierre Deshauteurs and won when he pinned Deshauteurs in the second period. The similarities between coach and athlete don’t end there.“When I won my finals match nine years ago, it was a tough first period and I earned a stalling point. I got a body lock right before the end of the second period and pinned (Pierre Deshaunters),” Schweitzer said. “I told Russell Wilson, ‘If Tyler gets a body lock in the second period and pins the kid, this will be crazy,’ and he almost got it. He even cut his hair just like mine just before the finals match.”Also an accomplished football player, Philpott has been offered by several colleges, including Presbyterian College in South Carolina.

“He’s really matured and come into his own. He has a good understanding of the big picture in life, on keeping a grasp of what that is, which is unique at his age,” Schweitzer said. “I’m really proud of how far he’s come and I know he’ll keep riding the wave of success.”The other honored athlete this week was at the opposite end of the spectrum in weight class, but still brought home a state title. Langford, who fell to Vera by a 5-4 decision at regionals just a week before, sought and obtained his state title over runner-up Vera on Saturday when he pinned him at the 5:05 mark.“I was expecting a really close match again, and I think when Colby was able to catch Juan on his back the first time, Colby capitalized on that momentum and continued to attack,” said North wrestling coach Heang Uy. “He just learned from some things last week and earlier in the tournament and knew that he had to go out there and wrestle his match. He deserves this so much because he has worked really hard.”Langford and Vera wrestle together in the offseason with Strong & Courageous wrestling club, and so know each other’s styles well. Both of them carried a lot of expectation into the state tournament.“He had three pins in the tournament and the only match he didn’t was in his first-round match, which into overtime. He was timid and afraid to make a mistake there. We talked about intensity and focus, and you could see a difference in the way he wrestled the rest of the time he was there,” Uy said.With both of them being sophomores, Schweitzer said, they are bound to face each other again many more times in the next couple of years.“I look forward to two more years of those two going at it,” Schweitzer said.“Colby’s got a great future,” Uy said, “and I told him now that he’s a state champion, he’s got a target on his back so he’s got to work harder because now people will be coming after him.”

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